Posts Tagged ‘Economy’

A government-convened international conference on anti-Semitism in Jerusalem on Thursday issued an action plan calling for Internet censorship as a remedy for anti-Jewish sentiment. ….

Convened by the Foreign Ministry and the Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism (GFCA) is a biennial gathering bringing together Jewish community leaders, civil society representatives and diplomats to discuss ways to grapple rising levels of anti-Jewish prejudice. …

the GFCA called upon the EU and national governments to adopt a formal definition of anti-Semitism that would include “unambiguous reference to attacks on the legitimacy of the State of Israel and its right to exist and Holocaust denial as forms of anti-Semitism.”

Moreover, the EU and its member states should agree on standard mechanisms for the monitoring of anti-Semitism and review their laws to “ensure an adequate legal framework and law enforcement instruments for combating anti-Semitism” as well as applying existing legislation more proactively. …

City of London Corporation – Casino Banking

…. the historic centre of London and the location of much of the UK’s financial sector. Until 2006, when the name was changed to avoid confusion with the wider London local government authority, the Greater London Authority, it was informally known as the Corporation of London.

The City of London, also known as the Corporation of London, the City of London Corporation and the Square Mile, is officially called the Mayor and Commonality and Citizens of the City of London. Though constituting only a small geographical area within Greater London itself, the City is administered by its own set of local governing bodies …

Tax Haven Status

In “Treasure Islands”, Shaxson states that “Few British people, let alone anyone else, know that the City of London is the most important financial center in the global offshore system. Before getting properly into the strangeness of this ancient city, some of its more obvious offshore qualities are worth noting. London’s first claim to be a tax haven is the subject of this chapter: its role as the creator and developer of the Euromarkets, Wall Street’s giant escape route from the checks and balances of U.S. financial regulation. Here the subsidiaries and affiliates of U.S. commercial banks have long been allowed to engage in, among many other things, investment banking—“casino banking,” as some have called it—

As Shaxson further explains, “London provides endless loopholes for U.S. financial corporations, and many U.S. banking catastrophes can be traced substantially to those companies’ London offices. …

Treasure Islands is an expose of how the corporate world uses tax havens to shirk paying its share of taxes. This costs the United States alone 100 billion dollars in lost revenue each year. While the United States experiences a recession and European countries face bankruptcy, Nicholas Shaxson, a former correspondent for the Financial Times and The Economist, argues that the problem can be traced back to the pervasive practice of offshoring financing in order to minimize taxable revenue. Journeying from Moscow to London to Switzerland to Delaware, he dives deep into a vast and secret playground where bankers and multinational corporations operate side by side with nefarious tax evaders, organized criminals, and the world’s wealthiest citizens. This is a fast-paced narrative that at last explains how bankers, traders, and other financial wizards are using the system to deepen our economic divide.

US to add $173 million for Israel missile defense (Totaling $9.5 billion)

A defense funding bill for fiscal year 2014 proposed Monday by members of the US House and Senate Armed Services Committees would increase American missile defense spending by some $358 million (NIS 1.25 billion), bringing the total to $9.5 billion (NIS 33.2 billion). ….

Funds for missile defense collaboration are separate from the average $3 billion (NIS 10.5 billion) in defense assistance Israel receives from the United States annually . ….

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Stanley Fischer, who led the Bank of Israel for eight years until he stepped down in June, has been asked to be the Federal Reserve’s next vice chair once Janet Yellen takes over as chief of the U.S. central bank ….

Fischer, as an American-Israeli, would also need Senate approval if he accepts the offer from the White House. …

… US bankers, rating agencies, and Wall Street knowingly swindled not only Americans, but the whole world into buying its worthless mortgage packages – thereby causing economic woes in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the rest of Euro-land ….

Apotheker, a 57-year-old German, spent most of his career at business software maker SAP AG before being promoted to CEO in April 2008. He lasted less than two years in the position. SAP decided not to renew his contract when it expired nearly eight months ago, largely because SAP’s financial performance faltered …

“SAP’s customer relationships suffered badly and so did employee morale while (Apotheker) was there, so this is a bit of an odd choice by HP,” … SAP pretty much fired Apotheker …

The decision to give Apotheker another shot at being a CEO may renew questions about the competency of HP’s board …